Everyone remembers how this went down? Obama ran for president in 2008 promising to remove troops from Iraq by 2011, he did that, but at the last minute said he’d like to keep some counter-terrorism advisors in Iraq because things were probably going to be pretty dicey for the Iraqi government once US troops had been pulled out. Then Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister of Iraq, responded insistently that no, every last American had to leave, nothing short of complete evacuation and ending of the American “occupation” was acceptable. Many left-wing Americans emphatically agreed, and some even accused Obama of purposefully whipping up a reason to keep America’s imperial presence moored firmly upon Iraqi soil.

So now al-Maliki wants counter-terrorism assistance from the US? (*blink*) (*blink*) Yep, that’s really what this article says.

How are we all explaining that turnabout, folks? Now Iraq wants to be occupied again? Or is it an elaborate ruse perhaps? The Iraqi government snubbed the US for two years so it looks like it’s independent, but really it wanted the Americans there the whole time? Maybe the Iraqi government faked the massive sectarian bloodletting of the past two years, too, just to create a pretext for their American masters?

Anyway, the US should certainly not “occupy” Iraq any longer. As an earlier version of Nouri al-Maliki once pointed out, the American presence is not desired in Iraq any longer. I guess Iraq will just have to figure this one out on its own. Maybe someone in the Iraqi government might actually have to take responsibility for one of its own decisions or something.